​​Don’t forget to have a new Dot Book ready for mini-camp! This is for all marchers and the color guard. The pit musicians will not need one. If you haven’t purchased one yet and are a little confused as to what it is, a picture is included below. A Dot Book is essentially a collection of 50 index cards with a spiral binding. It’s really that simple. The index cards are typically 3”x5” and can be all white pages or multi-colored pages. Make sure to clearly mark your student’s name on the cover for easy identification. Because these can get wet, if you write the name in marker, you might want to consider putting clear tape over it to prevent smearing. Also, you will need a piece of string, yarn, or rope to tie the each end of the spiral binding. This allows your student to hang the book around their shoulder or waist. It needs to be easily and quickly accessed no matter where they are on the field. They will also need a mechanical pencil to make those notes with. The wonderful thing about mechanical pencils is that they never need sharpening. If the lead breaks, with a twist or a click, you’re back in business.
 
For those students playing music, both marchers and pit musicians, a binder is another necessity. Please provide page protectors as well to keep those music sheets free from smudging, creasing, ripping, and most moisture. You won’t regret it. Your student will also need something to write with. For quick note taking, a dry erase marker might be the best option. It should allow notes to be written directly on the sheet protector. This is important because time is usually in limited supply when they are on the field. Later in the day they can transfer those notes onto the music sheets with the mechanical pencil they use on the Dot Book. The dry erase marker should just wipe right off the sheet protector.

Your student’s health is paramount. Water is essential to our body’s ability to function efficiently. During marching band rehearsals and camps, it is extremely important to have an adequate supply of water at all times. We recommend having a gallon-sized water jug for your student instead of a 20-oz travel mug. The picture below shows the mind-boggling difference between the two sizes. We also recommend you have this jug ready to go for the first mini-camp of the season. Don’t forget to put your student’s name on it!
 
Dehydration is something we all want to avoid. There are many symptoms: dizziness/lightheaded, headache, confusion, dry mouth, sleepiness/fatigue, extreme thirst, dark urine, or little to no urine. Symptoms may appear more quickly in some people than in others. The higher the temperature, the higher is our need for water. None of this information is new to any of us parents, but we cannot stress enough how important it is to communicate this to your student. Band camp is hard work. It’s important to remain well hydrated.

Shoes are a very important part of marching band rehearsals. Shoes that are comfortable but let your feet breathe to stay cooler are best. Running shoes are recommended due to their increased padding and support designed to reduce impact stress. To lessen the number of blisters caused by new shoes, it is critical that they be purchased as soon as possible and worn immediately to break them in. Rehearsal’s are tough and they don’t stop when someone gets a blister. They get a bandage applied and sent back into the ranks.
 
Equally important is the need for a second pair of shoes. There is always a high probability of dew on the practice field in the morning. And who knows what precipitation will occur throughout each day. Having a second pair of older shoes (and extra socks) is always a good idea. This allows band members to wear the older shoes in the wet conditions and then change into dry socks and dry shoes during the lunch break. This prevents further skin irritations and blisters.

The Bands of America Regional that Jenison will be attending is located in Bowling Green, Ohio. Most people tend to think of Bowling Green, Kentucky, which is where the Corvette Museum is. However, Bowling Green State University (BGSU or just BG) is almost exactly 3 hours from Jenison. It’s just south of Toledo by about a half hour.

Bowling Green is a small community and has few hotels. If you are considering attending this Regional and do not want to drive 3 hours to get there or 3 hours to return home, then it is strongly recommended that a hotel be booked very soon. Keep in mind that the few local hotels may have a significant portion of rooms taken by other bands. The hotels located in BG are:

Best Western Falcon Plaza      - we’ve stayed here several times, older but decent rooms
Fairfield Inn & Suites                - have not stayed here, but is a brand new building
Hampton Inn                             - we’ve stayed here a couple times, newer and still nice
Days Inn                                     - have not stayed here, is older and looks run down, has had poor reviews, and
                                                       bedbugs were reported in the last year
Holiday Inn Express                  - have not stayed here, is still fairly new

​There are several restaurants along the same road as the hotels. Everything is within walking distance, but you will have to cross a 5-lane road to get to them. Being a college town, there are restaurants, pizza joints, and pubs scattered throughout town. The downtown area is about a two miles from the stadium and is quite lively.
 
There is a Meijer directly across I-75 from campus. Walmart is on the other side of town. If you follow the main roads, plan on it taking 15 minutes to get there. If you know side roads, you can get there in 5-7 minutes.
 
BGSU is in the Mid-American Conference, the same one as Western Michigan University. Total enrollment is under 20,000 students. The 95 year old Falcon Marching Band (FMB) has about 250 members under the direction of Dr. Michael King. The 2018 season will be his third season as their director. The FMB has a Jenison alumni. Our mellophone marcher that we referenced in our opening post has participated in the FMB all three years of college and will continue into his senior year. The marching skills and discipline learned during his time at Jenison has made him an example for less experienced marchers. Last year, the FMB performed at BOA Grand Nationals as an exhibition band. His experience with Jenison once again allowed him to guide and lead many fellow band members who had never experienced competitive band or performed at a venue like Lucas Oil. We, as parents, are grateful for the many great experiences provided our hometown marching band.

Hello to all of the parents of our marching band and color guard. As you know, the practice season has started and the students are learning a lot of skills for the upcoming competitive season. Melissa English has written this blog for several years and her entries will remain in the archives as an additional resource for us all. After the season ended last year, the blog fell into its customary silence while everyone rested and recharged. This year, with the reawakening of the blog, it has some new voices. Taking the responsibilities over from Melissa are Todd and Kim Schwartzkopf. We have been involved in the marching band since 2011 and have experienced marching band in many different ways. Our student played mellophone for all four years of his high school career. We did our part by chaperoning, helping with band camp and serving on the Invitational Committee.
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You might be asking yourself, if you started in 2011, then why are you still helping out? That’s a very good question and we happen to have a very good answer. We had a single year break after our student graduated before our next student joined the color guard as an 8th Grader. This was a dynamic shift for us as parents to go from one component of the band to another. It now offers some really great opportunities. We have experienced three seasons of Winter Guard in addition to five seasons of Marching Band. What this will do is potentially allow us to continue the blog through the “silent” period after the band season closes. Many are not aware that our color guard only has a couple of weeks off before their winter season begins. A large portion of our color guard competes year round.

This blog will strive to be not only informative, but also short and, hopefully, mildly entertaining. This being our first post, we apparently have a lot to say, but we would prefer to provide shorter and more frequent posts. As we ramp up and begin this process, we want to say thank you. Thank you for reading this, but more importantly, thank you for supporting your student. Because we have witnessed the commitment these students have made to be State Champions, we have also witnessed the support and sacrifice from their parents. So, thank you for this. To our committee chairs, we know that you carry a lot of responsibility and that a good portion of our programs success is because of your dedication. We thank you, as well.
May we all remember that every part of this program needs helping hands to be successful. It starts with our Directors who rely heavily on our Parent Board, which in turn, relies on our Committees, and they rely on you. Our students, well, they rely on all of this. So please be generous with your time as it helps a lot more than you might imagine.